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FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Louisiana Common Core Fight Coming to a Head Today

For those who have not been following the issue, Louisiana is the current ground zero in the fight over the implementation of Common Core standards. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has issued an executive order suspending implementation of Common Core and suspended a contract that State Superintendent John White had entered into for the purchase of Common Core related materials and supplies. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education had planned to go ahead with the implementation of the controversial Common Core standards and testing anyway, asserting that Jindal does not have the necessary authority to suspend the contract.

Jindal and White are apparently meeting today to seek a compromise solution on the issue and both sides publicly are saying that they hope a compromise can be reached, although previous negotiations have flamed out spectacularly and it’s unclear what, if any, form the compromise could take. The matter is a pressing one because the Louisiana school year is imminent and at this point school districts are still unclear as to what curriculum they will be using.

As of now, BESE and White allege that if no solution is reached, they intend to press forward with Common Core implementation:

The BESE Board voted to keep Common Core, and Superintendent White says contractually, the state is still obligated to use the standard.

The entire issue and the arguments surrounding the issue have left the question of what will happen in the upcoming school year, which is now just around the corner.

The goal of Thursday’s meeting is a compromise to find a middle ground in order to move forward this school year, with either a way to phase out Common Core in the state of Louisiana, or to update how the state will test students in the future.

Not only the future of education in Louisiana is at stake, but numerous other states on the fence about Common Core will be watching how these developments play out. Stay tuned.